Essence of Vajrayana. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

who was an emanation of Vajrayogini. This woman owned a large mansion in which he worked as her servant for twelve years. During the day he performed menial tasks in and around the house, and at night he practised Luyipa’s instructions. After twelve years he attained the fifth stage of completion stage, the union that needs learning. It is said that Darikapa and the courtesan’s entire entourage of fourteen thousand all attained the Pure Land of Keajra. This is because Darikapa was a pure Heruka practitioner and so everyone who saw or touched him created the cause to be reborn in Heruka’s Pure Land.

      DINGKIWA

      One of King Darikapa’s ministers, Dingkiwa, also received empowerment and teachings on Heruka from Luyipa, who predicted that he would meet a woman wine-seller who was an emanation of Vajrayogini. When he met her, Dingkiwa lived with her and served her for ten years, and as a result of her blessings attained enlightenment in that life. It is said that even the insects living in the place where he attained enlightenment were reborn in Heruka’s Pure Land.

      GHANTAPA

      The first lineage holder of these instructions on Heruka body mandala is the great Yogi Ghantapa. He received the empowerments and instructions of Heruka body mandala direct from Heruka. Ghantapa lived deep in a forest in Odivisha (present-day Orissa), in India, where he engaged in intensive meditation on Heruka and Vajrayogini.

      Since he was living in such an isolated place his diet was poor and his body became emaciated. One day the king of Odivisha was out hunting in the forest when he came across Ghantapa. Seeing how thin and weak he was, the king asked Ghantapa why he lived in the forest on such a poor diet, and encouraged him to return with him to the city where he would give him food and shelter. Ghantapa replied that just as a great elephant could not be led from the forest by a fine thread, so he could not be tempted to leave the forest by the riches of a king. Angered by Ghantapa’s refusal, the king returned to his palace threatening revenge.

      Such was the king’s anger that he summoned a number of women from the city and told them about the arrogant monk in the forest. He offered great wealth to any one of them who could seduce him and force him to break his vows of celibacy. One woman, a wine-seller, boasted that she could do this and she set out for the forest to look for Ghantapa. When eventually she found him she asked if she could become his servant. Ghantapa had no need of a servant, but he realized that they had a strong relationship from previous lives and so he allowed her to stay. Ghantapa gave her spiritual instructions and empowerments, and they engaged sincerely in meditation. After twelve years they both attained the Union of No More Learning, full enlightenment.

      One day Ghantapa and the former wine-seller decided to encourage the people of the city to develop a greater interest in Dharma. Accordingly, the woman returned to the king and reported that she had seduced the monk. At first the king doubted the truth of her story, but when she explained that she and Ghantapa now had two children, a son and a daughter, the king was delighted with this news and told her to bring Ghantapa to the city on a particular day. He then issued a proclamation disparaging Ghantapa, and ordered his subjects to assemble on the appointed day to insult and humiliate the monk.

      When the day came, Ghantapa and the woman left the forest with their children, the son on Ghantapa’s right and the daughter on his left. As they entered the city Ghantapa was walking as if he were drunk, holding a bowl into which the woman was pouring wine. All the people who had gathered laughed and jeered, hurling abuse and insults at him. ‘Long ago’, they taunted him, ‘our king invited you to the city but you arrogantly refused his invitation. Now you come drunk and with a wine-seller. What a bad example of a Buddhist and a monk!’ When they had finished, Ghantapa appeared to become angry and threw his bowl to the ground. The bowl sank into the earth, splitting the ground and causing a spring of water to appear. Ghantapa immediately transformed into Heruka and the woman into Vajrayogini. The boy transformed into a vajra which Ghantapa held in his right hand, and the girl into a bell which he held in his left hand. Ghantapa and his consort then embraced and flew into the sky.

      The people were astonished and immediately developed deep regret for their disrespect. They prostrated to Ghantapa, begging him and the emanation of Vajrayogini to return. Ghantapa and his consort refused, but told the people that if their regret was sincere they should make confession to Mahakaruna, the embodiment of Buddha’s great compassion. Through the deep remorse of the people of Odivisha and the force of their prayers, a statue of Mahakaruna arose from the spring water. The people of Odivisha became very devoted Dharma practitioners and many of them gained realizations. The statue of Mahakaruna can still be seen today.

      Because of Ghantapa’s pure practice of Heruka and Vajrayogini in the forest, Vajrayogini saw that it was the right time for him to receive her blessings and so she manifested as the wine-seller. Through living with her, Ghantapa attained the state of enlightenment.

      KRISHNAPADA

      Krishnapada received empowerment and teachings on Heruka from Mahasiddha Dzalandarapa. He attained enlightenment in the intermediate state after attaining ultimate example clear light during the clear light of death. Before he passed away he attained extraordinary miracle powers by relying upon the generation stage of Heruka. He could cause wild animals or attackers to freeze just by staring at them, and could tame wild animals with a glance. He could cause fruit to fall from trees just by looking at it, and could walk without touching the ground. When he wanted to cross a river he would simply take off his upper garment and float across on it while sitting in the vajra posture.

      All the lineage Gurus of these instructions, from Ghantapa up to my root Guru, Vajradhara Trijang Losang Yeshe Rinpoche, are actual examples of practitioners who have attained the union of Buddha Heruka through the practice of Heruka body mandala. The instructions in this book are the instructions given direct from Heruka to Ghantapa. If we practise them sincerely, we can accomplish all the attainments and become a pure holy being just like Mahasiddha Ghantapa.

      THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A SINCERE HERUKA PRACTITIONER

      By practising the generation and completion stages of Heruka we can attain enlightenment in one life. However, for this to happen we must be a sincere practitioner with the following five qualifications:

      (1) Having experience of renunciation, bodhichitta and the correct view of emptiness.

      (2) Having received the empowerment of Heruka.

      (3) Keeping our vows and commitments purely.

      (4) Having a clear and unmistaken understanding of how to practise both generation stage and completion stage of Heruka.

      (5) Having indestructible faith in the Deity Heruka, and in the Spiritual Guide from whom we received the empowerment and commentary to the practice.

      Anyone possessing these five qualifications who meditates continually on the generation stage and completion stage of Heruka will definitely attain enlightenment in one life. If we do not yet possess these qualifications, we should strive gradually to attain them.

      Once we have received the empowerment, we have a commitment to meditate on the two stages and, if we fail to do so, we will lose the blessing of the empowerment. Furthermore, our progress will be hampered if we do not also put effort into attaining the other four qualities. Most importantly, we need to develop deep and unchanging faith in Heruka and our Spiritual Guide. We should try to overcome ordinary appearance of our Spiritual Guide and develop faith in him or her. In this way we will accomplish great results. Even if we give our Spiritual Guide an expensive present, if we lack faith in him or her it will have no meaning. On the other hand, if we develop pure faith in our Spiritual Guide we will be making a great offering to him even if we never give him presents. Without faith we are like a burnt seed; just as a burnt seed cannot produce any fruit, so a Tantric practitioner without faith cannot accomplish any results.

      Tantric realizations depend upon faith and imagination. No matter how much we investigate, it is difficult to prove that our Spiritual Guide is a Buddha, so, rather than developing doubts, we should use our powers of imagination to regard our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha and cultivate a pure mind of faith in him or her. Gradually our mind will become purer and purer until eventually we will directly see our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha.